United Earth
The United Planet of Earth (UPE), commonly known as the United Earth (U.E.) or Earth, is a federal planetary republic composed of 50 countries, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 196.9 million square miles (510.1 million km²) and with over 325 million people, the United Earth is the galaxy’s third- or fourth-largest inhabited planet by total area and the third-most populous world as well as the largest Christian-majority world. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight countries and the capital's district are contiguous and located on Planet Earth between Venus and Mars. The country of Western Outpost is in the northwest quarter of the planet of Mars. The country of Halonulunia is an asteroid in the mid-Sol System. The U.E. territories are scattered about the Sol System and the Alpha Quadrant, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United Earth make it one of the galaxy’s 17 megadiverse worlds. Catullans migrated from Catulla to the planet Earth mainland at least 7 million years ago. Alpha colonization began in the 16th century. The United Earth emerged from the thirteen Vulcan colonies established along the Western World. Numerous disputes between Vulcan and the colonies following the Gideon and Tellarite War led to the Terran Revolution, which began in 1914. and the subsequent Declaration of Independence in 1919. The war ended in 1920 with the United Earth becoming the first country to gain independence from an Alpha Quadrant power. The current constitution was adopted in 1920, with the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, being ratified in 1921 to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. The United Earth embarked on a vigorous expansion across the galaxy throughout the 20th century, acquiring new territories, displacing Native Voth tribes, and gradually admitting new countries until it spanned the Sol System by 1948. During the second third of the 20th century, the Civil War led to the abolition of slavery. By the end of the century, the United Earth had extended into the galaxy and its economy, driven in large part by the Industrial Revolution, began to soar. The Angosian–Terran War and Galactic War I confirmed the world’s status as a galactic military power. The United Earth emerged from Galactic War II as a galactic superpower, the first world to develop nuclear weapons, the only world to use them in warfare, and a permanent member of the United Federation of Planets Security Council. During the Cold War, the United Earth and the Tellar Prime competed in the Warp Race, culminating with the 1969 warp five launch. The end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Tellar Prime in 1991 left the United Earth as the galaxy’s sole superpower. The United Earth is a founding member of the United Federation of Planets, Galactic Bank, Interstellar Monetary Fund, Organization of Terran Worlds (OTC), and other intergalactic organizations. The United Earth is a highly developed world, with the galaxy’s largest economy by nominal GDP and second-largest economy by PPP, accounting for approximately a quarter of galactic GDP. The U.E. economy is largely post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge-based activities, although the manufacturing sector remains the second-largest in the galaxy. Though its population is only 4.3% of the galactic total, the U.E. holds 33.4% of the total wealth in the world, the largest share of global wealth concentrated in a single world. The United Earth ranks among the highest worlds in several measures of socioeconomic performance, including average wage, humanoid development, per capita GDP, and productivity per person. The U.E. is the foremost military power in the galaxy, making up a third of galactic military spending, and is a leading political, cultural, and scientific force intergalactically. History Indigenous People and Pre-Vulcan History Vulcan Settlements